Joe Biden urges more help for those who suffer domestic violence

WEST LAKE HILLS – Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday praised the courage of those who reach out for help from domestic violence and said more is needed to answer their call.

Biden spoke at the headquarters of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which stems from the Violence Against Women Act he pushed as a U.S. senator in 1994.

The hotline recently answered its three millionth call, he said but more than 50,000 calls were dropped.

“They get put on hold, and they’re gone,” he said.

Biden said that for years, he and President Obama have been asking for $4.5 million to fully fund the hotline but have only been able to get $3.2 million, and he said that was cut back “because of this unnecessary sequester.”

“That’s thousands of women – thousands of women –who will lose a life line because we cannot afford to sustain the need,” Biden said.

Biden and hotline officials praised private interests for stepping up to help, including Verizon, which donated a freshly announced $250,000 to allow visitors to the hotline’s website to chat online with those who can help.

The vice president also planned to attend a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, which was closed to the press.

The website for the hotline is TheHotline.org and the telephone number is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). The hotline offers support, crisis intervention information and referral services.